Double The Odds
by Matt Morwell
Summary: Sequel to Against All Odds. Two years later, Jason Creight is a retired Pokémon master. Kelly Shields is a noted Pokémon reseacher. Adam Sands is a renowned author. But adventure beckons them all once more...
1. Chapter 1

_**Double The Odds  
**by Matt Morwell_

_Disclaimer: The materials herein are based on "Pokémon", a universe I choose to rip off for the purpose of storytelling. The main characters are of my own design, and may not be used without permission._

_If anyone out there is curious as to why I took down the original posting of this story, it's because I choked on it. Hard. I've been in the process of redesigning it for a very long time but haven't quite gotten up the nerve, until now, to make another attempt at passing both your scrutiny and my own. I'm much more pleased with this version. I hope you will be, too._

–

The morning sunlight streamed across the horizon. It struck the clear blue waters below, the equally blue sky above, and the cliffside between them. Even the cliff seemed to sparkle as brilliantly as the sky and the water, with the ocean spray steadily streaming down.

But that wasn't all. The sunlight also lent itself to the cool green grass surrounding a modest white-painted house that sat about a hundred meters away... and, of course, the house itself. And if one were to take a look into the window, one would spot an extraordinary man. A man who, though seated in a wheelchair, few made the mistake of underestimating. He was too well-known for that. In fact, because of the reputation he'd garnered, he'd become something of a legend... thus, in some manners, he was even _over_estimated.

He didn't mind. As long as it meant not every kid was coming along to challenge him to a battle to test his skills, he was okay with the legends.

Well... except for the one where he became so powerful, he overcame his wheelchair. He wasn't comfortable with that one just yet.

It wasn't true.

Not yet.

Jason Creight rested his chin on his fist as he contemplated the sunrise. More sunlight was filtering through the windows facing east, of course, but it would have been blinding for him to look in that direction. He found the way the sun hit the water, the sky, the grass, and everything else at this time of morning to be absolutely gorgeous. He never seemed to grow tired of it, as perhaps might have been expected of him – but even after two years of living here, he still awoke to the same mesmerizing sight every morning and stared at it in awe.

"Jason?"

He couldn't help but smile at the voice, the one thing that could brighten his day more than the noontime sun. He reached down to the familiar curves of the titanium wheels mounted on either side of his chair, rolled the left wheel backward and the right wheel forward so he could face the woman addressing him.

Kelly Shields was leaning against the doorframe leading into the kitchen, her arms and legs crossed and a lopsided smile on her face. Her eyes sparkled as she watched the man in the wheelchair... the man she'd fallen in love with.

"You're always so amazed with the sunrise," she noted teasingly. "You spend more time in front of that window in the morning than you do with me!"

"Really, now?" Jason appeared to mull that over for a few moments. "Well, in that case, I'll have to find a way to make up for it."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," she grinned. "But I can't help being a little jealous of the window... I mean, it gets such a nice view of that torso of yours, every single morning without fail."

He snickered. "Not to worry! We're just good friends, my dear."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll believe that when you actually find the time to put on a shirt between getting out of bed and going to the window. Speaking of which..." Kelly tossed an article of clothing at Jason. "Put that on."

The wheelchair-bound man caught the article, realized it was a shirt, smirked and rolled his eyes. "You're that worried?"

"Yes!" she proclaimed.

"Okay, okay..." He donned the shirt, a simple green pocket tee. Despite the teasing, she was entirely correct – for the last two years, when Jason raced to the window to watch the sunrise, he frequently forewent a shirt. Anyone who had a mind to spy on him through that window would have been able to glimpse his upper body's rather impressive physique, a result of two things: entire dependence on it for motion, and weight-training to allow for more reliability so that such dependence wouldn't be a hindrance.

Kelly cocked her head to one side. "What're you thinking about?"

"Hm?" Jason cast a sidelong glance at the window he'd been staring through. "Oh. Nothing."

She _tsk_ed at him. "You're not a very good liar, Jason."

"What makes you think I'm lying?"

"You're playing with your ring again."

Jason frowned and looked down at his hands. Indeed, the thumb and middle finger of his right hand were twisting the gold wedding band around his left ring finger back and forth. He stuck his tongue in his cheek in annoyance.

It was a habit he'd picked up just shortly after their wedding, when the house was being built. He would spend nights in their room at Professor Oak's Pallet Town lab sitting near the window, twisting the ring around his finger, back and forth, back and forth. Kelly had caught onto it rather quickly, and ever since, he'd been trying to break the habit.

_Obviously, all my efforts have been less than successful_, he mused.

Kelly approached and sat down in the nearby rocking chair. "It's Gyarados again, isn't it?"

Jason heaved a sigh and nodded. "Yeah. I wish I could say I've put the whole thing past me, but every time I try, I just start obsessing over it again."

She shrugged. "So don't try. It's part of your life, Jason. You've seen how Ash loves his Pikachu. It was the same with you and Gyarados. You went through it all together. Gyarados stayed behind because he knew he'd become too dangerous for you to keep."

"We've been over this, you know," Jason muttered.

"Obviously not enough," she countered. "I've been married to you for two years and I've known you a lot longer than that. You don't have to let it go. Gyarados is part of you, and you're a part of him. But you don't have to shove him away in order to move on with your life."

"And I don't want to shove him away. But..." Jason ran his fingers through his hair, which he'd allowed to grow out to his shoulders. "It's frustrating, wrestling over this. I really do need to move on with my life. He probably already has. But at the same time, it feels like... like..." He sighed. "You've probably heard enough of this already."

"No, no, keep going. Feels like what?" Kelly leaned forward. "What does it feel like?"

"I guess... it feels like... if I move on, in some way, I'm abandoning him to my memories. And memories fade. So I guess I'm afraid if I move on, I'll... forget about him."

Kelly chewed her lip for a moment, then seemed to strike upon an idea. "You still remember Tommy, right?"

A sad smile crossed Jason's features. "Who can forget him?"

"Exactly. I know it's not an easy thing to talk about, but think about it for a moment. When that creature... well, you know... and then it disappeared, what did we do?"

Jason shrugged. "We went to his funeral, we came back here..."

"Yes, and?"

"And... Sam told me about the Atlantis League."

"And then what did you do?"

"Told you about it, and then went to participate in it."

She smiled. "Precisely. You were doing things. You weren't holing up and refusing yourself any new experiences. What happened to Tommy was tragic, yes, but you never worried about forgetting him. You knew you never would. So did I. And we knew him for a lot less time than we knew Gyarados. That said, do you really think there's even the slightest chance you're going to forget about your very first Pokémon?"

In spite of himself, Jason's face split into a slight smile. "Good point. I suppose not."

"See? I can be reasonable with the best of them."

"Well, that might be pushing it..."

A throwpillow flew across the expanse separating the two.

–

"Kelly! I see you're here bright and early."

Kelly shrugged on her white lab coat. "You know me, Professor. I like being punctual."

"Well, it's 7:31 and you weren't due until 8. I'd say this goes beyond 'punctual' and right into 'early'. What do you think?"

"I think it's your lab."

"Indeed, it is." Professor Samuel Oak handed Kelly a clipboard. "Here's the agenda for today."

Kelly flipped through the papers on the board, and her shoulders slumped. "You've got me researching the Feebas? _Again?_"

"Sorry, Kelly, but it's what I have."

"Why can't I keep after Scizor and Golbat? They're my Pokémon, after all. And you're the one who wanted information on how Scyther evolved. Plus you still need some insight into Golbat's eventual evolution, and it won't evolve unless I'm around!"

Oak chuckled. "If I were you, I'd calm down. Yes, I want to see you evolve your Golbat, and yes, I want more information on your Scizor, but I can get the latter myself, and the former isn't a priority right now."

"You're giving higher priority to _Feebas?_ Feebas are about as useless as Magikarp."

"And, I'm told, they evolve into a Pokémon with all the potential of a Gyarados. I also understand they're a considerable rarity, even in the Hoenn region. A Feebas evolution is not something I want anybody here to miss, and I need people working on how it's done."

She frowned. "Giving them battle experience isn't doing it?"

"I had the latest attempt rated at approximately level 53. Doesn't look like it's going anywhere. As far as we know, 55 is the highest level for evolution, so unless Feebas is looking to break a record..."

Kelly glanced through the notes on the Feebas. "Well, it looks like that particular Feebas is certainly in the running for some gym battles, at this point." She muttered the notes back to herself. "It was taught five different moves after the first three were determined useless... feeding it PokéBlocks emphasizing enhancement of intelligence and endurance had no discernible effect..."

She looked back up at Oak. "You have your staff feeding this thing PokéBlocks now?"

Oak could only offer her a shrug. "If it's not going to evolve through the accumulation of battle experience, we have to assume there are alternative methods."

"This from the man who wrote a PokéDex entry describing Magikarp as one of the most irrelevant Pokémon on the evolutionary scale, thus causing scientists to dedicate research efforts to its existence."

"Precisely. So you tell me, if Feebas are as pointless as Magikarp on the evolutionary scale, how is it they've managed to survive their predators?"

"They haven't. You said it yourself, they're extraordinarily rare. As far as oceanographers know, they're on the brink of extinction. For all we know, this laboratory holds the last crop of Feebas the world will ever know."

"Which is why it's important to study them now, Kelly. No matter how insignificant they seem, every Pokémon has a secret... something interesting to impart to the rest of the world. I refuse to believe Feebas are really that weak. There's some sort of secret to them, as well, and I believe you're the one who can figure out what it is that makes them survive."

She tapped the clipboard. "Well, I'm not going to discover that secret with the one the staff trained up. I need to start with an infant."

Oak waved his hand dismissively. "It's in your hands, Kelly. Do what you feel is necessary, then have a report on my desk by the end of the day." He walked off in the direction of the arboretum.

Kelly groaned. "Great. I'm gonna be working on this one all day... and I'll probably be nuts for it by the time I get home."

–

Celadon City was well-known for its bustling citizenry and its cramped businesses. Not a day went by in this place without something big happening, and almost invariably, that something big tended to make its way into the news - or at the very least, into daily gossip.

For the last year, Adam Sands had paradoxically been both hoping for and praying against the day when his name would re-enter the Celadon City gossip... or the news, for that matter. He didn't particularly enjoy being talked about behind his back - some part of him persistently feared nothing said that way, and especially about him, was at all flattering - but in this case, it would be because of a phenomenon the woman currently occupying his bathroom had been waiting for since they'd begun married life.

He tossed aside the sheet cover, reached under the bed, and pulled out the new models of artificial legs he'd been imparted only a few months ago. He was still getting used to them, but he thought he had them pretty much figured out now. As with the pole-type legs he'd used during his Pokémon journeys, these were made with titanium cores; however, that was where their similarity ended. These new models were "fleshed out" with softer materials that, when worn with long pants, made it appear as though he had two perfectly natural legs. As an added bonus, the right knee took less effort to bend when he was walking than with the older model.

The bathroom door opened as Adam was affixing his right leg to his hip. Amanda Forsythe trudged through the frame, holding a plastic cylinder in one hand and staring at it as though it was supposed to have revealed to her the mystery of the universe.

Such a description likely would not have been too far off... because the cylinder was meant for use as a pregnancy test.

Adam looked up at his wife, and immediately knew what the result was. His face fell. "Nothing?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Her blue eyes sparked as they looked up at her husband. "There's got to be something wrong with one of us..."

Adam sighed and attached his other prosthetic. "Not necessarily. The blood test said we were compatible. Maybe it's just going to be a while before it takes."

"I want this baby, Adam."

"I know you do." He pushed himself off the bed, approached her, took her into his arms in a gentle hug. "I know you do."

She sighed. "I know it's not exactly something you were crazy about when the idea first came up, but..."

"Truth be told, I'm still not crazy about it," he remarked. "On the other hand, I'm not going to say I mind making the attempt."

"Har har." She pulled away from the hug and looked at him. "Seriously. I really do want this baby. And we have everything we need to support one."

"Except the virility?"

"That's what has me worried." She jabbed a finger in his abdomen, making him flinch. "Who knows what other defects you have? Maybe you're the one who can't have children."

He scowled darkly. "Hey, you're the one who's supposed to carry the kid, right? Maybe it's _your_ problem."

Amanda's expression changed as she realized she'd inadvertently hit a sore spot. "That was uncalled for. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." He went back to the bed and sat down, then looked back at her. "Why are you so eager to have a child, anyway? I mean, I appreciate the sentiment, but we've got so much time together. Time for ourselves. Having a child would mean devoting all our time and attention to the child, instead of to each other."

"Not that I don't appreciate you saying you're devoted to me... but this is something I really want now."

"Again, why now?"

"Because."

Adam threw his arms into the air. "If I could win an argument with that response, just once–!"

"If you could win an argument with that response, you'd be the first married man who ever has." She crossed her arms. "Just because we share a bed doesn't mean I can't win every argument we have with the word 'because'."

"I'm so glad you cleared that up." He flopped back on the bed. "Amanda, we're 24 years old. My parents didn't have me until their thirties; yours had you in their late twenties. You're eager for this to happen ASAP and I'd feel a lot better if I knew why you–"

"Because I lost more than a year of my life to that league," she interrupted. "And when that happened, I lost you, too. I'm not about to let that happen again. You have no idea how alone I was, that entire time."

A heavy silence hung in the air for several moments.

"I've got some idea," he finally answered.

"I don't think you do. You at least had the freedom of walking the world and communicating with those in it. I didn't have any such luxuries. If not for you, I could have disappeared off the face of the planet and nobody would have even noticed."

Adam looked at her. "You're saying that even after being married this long, you're still lonely?"

She sighed, though the noise sounded more like a suppressed groan. "I want a _family_, Adam. I don't want to be the one to be taken care of anymore. I want to be the one taking care of someone else."

"You've done a great job with your Pokémon."

"And that was a start. But the opus of my achievements in raising a life would be to be the one who gives it in the first place." She sighed and looked wistfully toward the window. "I'm not completely indifferent to your concerns over the subject, but to be perfectly honest, I couldn't care any less about them than I do right now."

"So what is it you _do_ care about, besides having this baby?"

"Building a life. You said it yourself, we've got so much time together... I think having a child would help to make the most of it." She smiled. "Think of the challenges we'd face in raising a little girl! Trying to keep her away from boys, teaching her how to read, how to spell..."

"Or the challenges in raising a little boy," he replied. "Keeping him away from mud, and trying to make him understand - without success, I might add - why too much candy is a bad thing..."

She giggled. "There, you see? Can you imagine any greater challenge, and any greater achievement?"

"Well, when you put it that way... we can always try again."

–

He had never known anything of light or dark, except that where there was warmth, usually there was light... and where it was cold, those places were as black as the oblivion he'd always lived with.

He could sense now that it was dark. He didn't need his watch to confirm it; the outside temperature was enough of an indication to him that the sun had long since set beyond whatever horizon was before him. It didn't matter to him, really; he intended to travel until he became tired. Frequently, that meant traveling until it was light, then finding a convenient shelter.

In any case, he certainly wasn't tired now. He was energized by the cool air. His cane tapped patiently and rhythmically against the dirt path, each tap like a drop of water in a calm stream. Truthfully, he didn't need the cane, but he found it to be of comfort nonetheless. It had served him well elsewhere, and he preferred to have it as a keepsake.

The sound of trickling water reached his sensitive ears, and he turned off the path and to the left, confident that he had found the place he'd been looking for. His cane always stayed two steps ahead of him, back and forth, _wap-wap_, until it came in contact with something that was most definitely not land – _plunksh_.

_Well, then_, he thought. He pulled out his PokéNav, aimed it at the area directly ahead of him, and pressed a button.

"Silver Rapids," it intoned in a soothing female voice. "Primary route for Pokémon trainers traveling between the Johto and Kanto regions."

He put the PokéNav back in his vest pocket. _It'll have to do. There's no land route from here to Kanto. And this is probably the calmest area of the rapids._ He pulled out a Pokémon capture ball whose top was green with a black grid. At each X made by the grid was a small sapphire orb inset. "Let's go, Starmie."

The ball opened and a crimson bolt of energy spewed from it, coalescing into an indigo, star-shaped creature with a massive red jewel at its center. The jewel blinked in varying degrees of intensity, its form of speech.

"Yeah, this is probably the best spot. We're almost there. I need you to take me across."

He was on a mission. Others had been known to call it an obsession.

He was comfortable with that.

Just as long as he attained his goal.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

Kelly hid a yawn behind her fist as she consulted the paper she'd been writing on the subject of the Feebas. She'd stopped rolling her eyes at it about lunchtime and gotten the basics of her theories down on paper; that had gotten the ball rolling enough for her to go picking through the aquarium to find a Feebas infant worth her study time.

She'd been careful with her comments toward it, of course. If there was one thing Pokémon were most assuredly not, it was deaf. She'd been about two seconds away from sighing and muttering something about just how hideous that particular breed of fish was – but her professionalism had kicked in at the right moment, reminding her that whatever else they were, Pokémon were sentient and likely to take comments of that nature personally.

Nevertheless, she'd volunteered in her admittedly short list of theories on the survival techniques of Feebas that their ugliness probably made for a turn-off to predators. Her elaboration on this proposal was that their coloration, a sickly yellowish-green, was a color common to many poisonous sea plants, and their shredded-looking fins would be the icing on the proverbial cake. They looked disease-ridden, dangerous to one's health.

None of which helped to corroborate Professor Oak's insistence that Feebas was capable of evolution.

She set her notepad down on the table and let her pen drop atop it, feeling thoroughly wrung out from having to offer such an impromptu report. She wasn't happy about it. She knew she could compose reports of more substance, and with more flair – in fact, now that she thought of it, there probably wasn't going to be anything in it that Oak himself hadn't already taken into consideration.

_As if that wasn't enough, my report is probably wrong anyway. We already determined that Feebas are rare, maybe on the brink of dying out – so if their coloration is their defense, it's a poor one. Which means evolution is really the only thing that gives them a chance for survival._

She picked the pen back up and scrawled as much at the bottom of the notepad, then sloppily signed it and lazily tossed the pen to the other side of the table. It clattered and rolled off, then rattled across the floor.

"Burning the midnight oil, I see."

She glanced up, rubbed her eyes, and offered a weak smile to the intruder. "Professor Oak wanted this report by the end of the day today and I don't think I've even scratched the surface of what he wants me studying."

Jason guided his wheelchair to the other side of the table, then rested his elbows on the cool surface and laced his fingers. "What's he got you on?"

"Feebas."

He arched an eyebrow. "I'd ask if you were joking, if I didn't know better."

"Yeah, don't do that, 'cause you _do_ know better." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms as she did so. "He wants me to offer speculation on how Feebas might be liable to evolve."

"I thought the one you guys were working on before pretty much proved it doesn't."

"That one's still being worked on. Most recently they rated it at level 53. Dragonairs and Pupitars don't evolve until level 55."

"Dragonairs and Pupitars evolved from something first, and they don't think splashing in puddles is an attack."

She gave him a scathing look. "Thanks for that penetrating analysis. Care to take over the report for me? I'd like to go home, myself."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood a little."

"Which I would appreciate normally, but right now..." She slumped and sighed. "I really don't know what Oak expects me to accomplish, especially in just a single day. It's not even daytime right now, is it?"

"Sun set about two hours ago." Jason glanced about. "Most of the daytime researchers went home. Night shift should be getting here in a couple minutes." He gestured to the notepad. "Mind if I take a look?"

"I do, actually. I'll have to start over on it."

"What for?"

"It sucks. Beyond a couple of preliminary guesses as to what makes this Pokémon tick, I don't have anything substantial to offer, and I'm using way too many words to make that clear."

Jason settled back in his chair. "What's the focus of the research, anyway, beyond the idea that Feebas might be capable of evolving?"

"Survival mechanisms. Feebas are rare but they've managed to survive for a very long time. At first I thought it might have to do with their colors and those awful fins they have. To your average predator, that's all the proof you need that it's a hazard to one's health. But if that's the case, wouldn't Feebas be a lot more abundant than they are?"

"It's not really that simple, is it? Fishermen could be catching them by the bucketload in the areas they're supposed to be abundant. If that's true, it wouldn't surprise me their population has diminished. Like Tauros. Those used to be a lot more common, until callous hunters decided they wanted a meat and hide surplus for business."

Kelly's expression soured. It wasn't exactly the epitome of human history Jason was bringing up. Fortunately, a stop had been put to those hunters once it was realized Tauros bore sentience equivalent to that of most other Pokémon. "Fishermen catch Magikarp by the bucketload and there's no shortage of _them_ for it."

"Magikarp get tossed back. Maybe Feebas don't."

"What possible reason would a fisherman want a Feebas for, though?"

"You tell me. You're the one who's been looking at them all day."

"Yeah, and I'm stumped. Just... ugh!" She thumped her palm on the notepad. "You know something, you're probably right... Feebas likely won't evolve just by gaining battle experience. It needs something else."

"Okay... but what else?"

She shook her head. "Not sure I even want to try guessing yet. First I want to turn in this awful report to Professor Oak and then go home to get a little sleep." She got to her feet. "Actually, if I can just skip turning in the report and get the sleep, that'd be okay, too."

Jason offered no response, opting instead to simply accompany Kelly out the door. But before they could make it that far, they were met by none other than Professor Oak, who was wearing a somewhat expectant look. "Kelly. Have you got that report worked up?"

She sighed and passed the notepad to him. "Yeah, but it's really not all that good."

"My lab isn't a literary society, Kelly, I just wanted a first impression of the work I assigned you to." Oak took the pad and gave it a cursory glance. "Hm. Even in your notes you don't sound all that convinced of your theory." He looked back up at her. "I like smart people who disagree with me. If you don't think Feebas evolves, make a hypothesis that says so, then test it by all means you feel are necessary."

She ran a hand through her hair, and in spite of herself, smiled. "Thank you, Professor... but for right now, I think I'm going to go brain myself against a bedpost."

Oak didn't miss a beat. "Document that, would you, Jason?"

–

It was late at night and quite dark in the house, and beneath the exquisitely comfortable blankets of a queen-sized bed, Adam was sleeping contentedly, his dreams filled with vague memories of passions exchanged and spent. There had been no expense spared to make sure that neither he nor his fiancée were disturbed during their much-desired sleep.

But even if they'd been in possession of less lavish accommodations, he wouldn't have noticed the figure climbing out of the bed, tiptoeing to the door, or the opening and closing of said door. And that was because she'd learned how to be sneaky. It had been really the only way she could have her own brand of fun during her tenure aboard the _Gargantuan_.

Amanda slipped a pair of sneakers on and let herself out of the house. One hand slid its fingers through a mire of brown hair, long and hopelessly tangled – about par for nighttime. She winced as she hit a snag. The sky was black, and even for Celadon City, the atmosphere was quiet and vaguely lonely. As she paced the sidewalk, she could hear the hum of overhead lights and the buzzing of small insects about them.

A boy, appearing to be all of thirteen, raced up to her and looked at her eagerly. "You a trainer?" he asked, voice hopeful. He held up a Pokémon capture ball – a Nest Ball, by the looks of it.

She offered him a lopsided smile and gestured to her trim waist, which bore no belt for capture balls. "Not right now, I'm not. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Trainers don't rest for nothin'. So I don't either." The freckle-faced boy's goofy smile revealed a slight gap between his front teeth. "'Sides, night is when the most awesome Pokémon come out. I sleep more in the day."

Amanda shook her head. "Don't think I could do that. Daytime is too bright."

"That's why I sleep through a lot of it." The boy pouted playfully, then continued up the sidewalk, in search of others like himself.

She smiled for a moment longer, but the expression quickly faded once he was out of sight. She hadn't come out here for idle chitchat, or even to walk things off. She turned a corner and headed south, towards a video-phone booth she knew was not likely to be seeing use this late in the evening. When she came upon her objective, she saw that she was right; the booth was empty, and the screen was glowing a harsh blue at nobody in particular.

She entered the booth, shut the door – it made an uncomfortable screech as it did so, indicating a little maintenance was in order – and took a seat, then inserted the required amount of credits and began dialing. It was a number that she'd been taught to memorize... or rather, _made_ to memorize. One of five numbers that she had permanently stored in her thoughts, she couldn't remove them if she wanted to.

He would be awake at this hour. Perhaps just him, but him, at the very least.

The screen bleeped, then flashed to black. If one didn't know better, one might have assumed that the connection had been lost, or that the booth's power supply had suffered some sort of hit.

Amanda knew better. It meant that the connection had been achieved, not lost.

A deep bass voice filtered through the speakers; it bore no kindly preamble. _"This is irregular. You are no longer an Atlantis League gym leader."_

She'd expected such a greeting and was prepared for it. "They made us remember the phone numbers and there's no rule against using them after our time there is finished," she answered smoothly.

"_Very well. Be brief."_

She didn't waste any time. "When I was inducted into the league, they injected me with something... said it would help ensure I didn't 'develop ties to others' during my time there, and assured me it was harmless. I didn't question it because I didn't want ties to others there anyway and I was still caught up in the whole idea of having to stay there against my will. What was it?"

"_Mifepristone."_

Though she hadn't discounted that possibility, her heart nevertheless dropped into her abdomen upon its confirmation. "A permanent sterility drug?"

"_Correct."_

"The Atlantis League decided to make me barren?"

"_Correct."_

Her eyes wide, she looked away from the screen and took a deep breath. This was what she'd worried about for the last month. The incident had been so long ago that she hadn't remembered it offhand. It had simply been one in a series of events designed to convert her into a gym leader loyal to the Atlantis League. But once it had re-entered her mind, she'd been unable to stop thinking about it.

A long moment of silence passed. Amanda knew that he would not disconnect the call, but neither would he be the one to break the silence. She would have to, and to prevent annoying him, she would have to do it quickly. She looked back to the blank screen, which in truth _was_ displaying an image – but one of a completely dark room. Exactly how he liked it. "Is it reversible?"

"_After three years, normal medical practices cannot."_

Her breath caught in her throat – two years ago, Adam had freed her from a thirty-month tenure in the league. _It's been too long... _"What do you mean, 'normal medical practices'? There are alternatives?"

"_There is an agent that can reverse the effects of mifepristone within five years."_

Now her heart began to flutter. "Where do I find it?"

"_In the exclusive ownership of the Atlantis League."_

_... You can't possibly be serious!_ was her first reaction. But her next was, _Of course you're serious. You don't know how to be any other way. _"Why didn't I know about it? For that matter, after I was released, why didn't I receive it?"

"_You left the Gargantuan immediately upon hearing you were allowed to go. Had you not departed so swiftly, league physicians would have offered you the agent."_

"Nobody tried to get hold of me after I left."

"_Correct."_

Amanda knew she wouldn't get any response beyond that; she was well-aware the league didn't keep tabs on former gym leaders, and since she was aware of this, there was no need for him to say it. "How do I get it, then?"

"_Battle the league."_

Her jaw dropped. "You guys must be five or six times stronger than the last time I did that! Can't I get it free of charge, having been a gym leader and all?"

"_I should not need to remind you former rank matters nothing to the Atlantis League."_

She rolled her eyes. No, he really didn't need to remind her of that. She knew better than most how transitory gym leaders tended to be in that league; this combined with the fact that they didn't keep tabs on former leaders after they parted company could only lead to that conclusion. "When does the _Colossal_ dock next?"

"_Fifteen days."_

"Fine, then. Expect to see me on the next cruise."

That was when he offered her an unbidden – and slightly unnecessary – statement, an extremely rare occurrence for him. _"Your deadline may arrive before you are able to defeat the league."_

She felt slightly miffed by that. "What do you care whether I make it or not?"

"_I don't. We will be expecting you."_

The connection was severed from the other end.

–

The water was cold, as he'd imagined it would be. Fortunately, Pokémon trainers were afforded a few perks, and determined ones were able to afford a few more than those – in his case, one such perk involved a neoprene wetsuit he kept under his clothing during the day. He kept a tight grip on his Starmie, though he knew that there was no way it would let him wash away in the current. His Pokémon was nothing if not loyal.

His probing cane eventually poked a land mass below his feet; the water was shallow enough that he could rise without worry. He touched down, and after a few moments, found a calmer region through which he felt comfortable wading. He kept his cane in front of him, poking the floor of the rapids every two or three steps; he didn't want to tangle himself among seaweed, or worse, water-type Pokémon.

He remembered his classmates saying that a cave at night was a no-no. Perhaps they'd been right, if only because sight was the one sense they depended on the most. As cold and dank as it was in this place, he had no trouble believing no light whatsoever landed upon it during the night... and that very little fell upon it during even the height of day. He imagined under other circumstances, he might be frightened of a place like this, as well – but for the circumstances prevailing at this moment, he simply found it fascinating.

He could detect some activity happening just ahead. There was the flapping of wings and a high-pitched _chirpchirp_ accompanying the noise. It sounded like a pair of Zubats combating each other... probably, he guessed, over rights to either a mate or territory. He didn't make the issue his business and quickly moved on, his cane making a steady _tap-tap-tap_ against the cave floor. His Starmie, which he'd left free of its ball, complemented his cane's tapping by rolling along the rocks, making a _tinkta-tink_ sound as it moved.

He smiled to himself. _For all the fright my classmates felt about being in a cave with no light, they probably couldn't appreciate the noises that make a place like this come alive. It might as well be bright as day in here – they might still want to get out as fast as possible._

Of course, he had no objections to leaving the place himself. He was heading toward Kanto for a reason, and it wouldn't do to remain holed up in here for very long. Still, one could take the time to appreciate the company in a place like this. It might seem solitary to some, but for him, it was quite crowded with life and activity.

His cane struck the cave wall. He stopped, reached out and felt the slick, cool surface... then he began to move along it, his steps and manner assured. There really was no reason to panic here. He'd gotten in, he could most certainly get back out – if by no other method, then by the entry point.

But that train of thought proved unnecessary to continue upon, as he felt a breeze of air rushing into the cave, and he knew he'd found the exit. Another smile crept to his face when his cane pushed around a corner and touched soft ground instead of shale. _Made it._

"Hey, mister!"

He blinked and raised an eyebrow at the voice; it sounded like a child several years younger than him. He was not often referred to by such a term as "mister", though he supposed by this point in his life he was indeed a young man instead of just a teenage boy.

"Wow, mister. How can you see in that cave with those sunglasses?"

He smiled again; the voice was emitting from right in front of him. He held up his cane. "Well, strictly speaking, I can't. But nobody can see in the cave even without them, can they?"

He heard a laugh. "I sure can't! So you just felt your way around?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow! Awesome Starmie! I wish I had one." He could hear how the boy moved; the child's knees crackled as he knelt down to inspect the Pokémon. "All I can find around here are Staryus. I keep hopin' to find a Water Stone so I can capture one an' then evolve it."

He tilted his head to the side. "So you can battle with it?"

"Uh-huh!"

"You're probably better off sticking with a Staryu, actually. I made mine evolve too quickly. It can't learn any new moves on its own that way."

There was hesitation in the boy's voice. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. Staryus can learn all sorts of attacks, all the way up to level 55. If you really want to balance out the power of a Starmie with great moves, you're probably better off waiting until it's gotten to that level. I only found that out after I evolved mine, though."

"Wow! I guess I'll do that, then." Then the boy's voice became playful, and he could hear the click of a button, followed by the whistle of a capture ball being enlarged. "You wanna battle? I got some awesome Pokémon an' I wanna show 'em off!"

He smiled once more. "Sure. But be careful, mine are pretty awesome, too."

_Whatever else I'm gonna do on this journey, I'm gonna make sure you're proud of your legacy._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_Bleep-bleep. Bleep-bleep._

Kelly scrunched her eyes tighter, her only defense against the noise of her PokéGear's phone application ringing at her. She groaned, then turned over in bed – only narrowly avoiding whacking Jason in the face – and grabbed the gear off her bedside table. She depressed the Talk button. "Whoever you are, it's awfully late, so don't try to sell me things and let me sleep, would you?"

"_Kelly, it's me."_

She blinked. "Amanda?"

"_Yeah. I need to talk with you about something. You're not with Jason right now, are you?"_

"Well, we share a bed and I'm in it right now."

"_Sorry. I don't think Jason should be hearing this."_

"Okay." She got up and felt her way toward the living room. "I'm in the clear. What's the problem?"

"_... It's sort of a personal thing. When I was with the Atlantis League, they had a policy of administering mifepristone to their gym leaders."_

"Mifepristone is...?"

"_A sterility drug. A single injection can potentially render you infertile for life."_

Kelly was taken aback. "Why the hell would they do something like that?"

"_They didn't want their leaders to be parents during their tenure aboard their respective ships. Some of the first to be impressed into the league tried to use a loophole involving becoming a parent to weasel their way out for the sake of their children. So they came up with a solution."_

"And you were given that drug?"

"_Yeah. The idea was that once a gym leader was ousted, they'd be given the antidote and that would be that."_

"So what happened?"

"_I was stupid. I left the ship immediately after being told I was free to go, instead of waiting to be discharged the way they usually do it. As a result, I never received the antidote."_

"When did you get the initial injection?"

"_Four and a half years ago. It runs its full course in five years."_

Kelly shook her head. "I don't get it. You and Adam have been trying to conceive. How did you not know what they were pumping into you when you joined the league?"

"_I used to be prone to seasickness, and being out on that water for that long tends to put a foreigner at greater risk for health problems. I'm from Kanto just like the rest of you. They gave me a battery of injections and all the paperwork, I just... didn't review it until I spoke with my doctor. I was still too much in shock at the idea of being made to be a gym leader. And I was uncommonly good at it, Kelly – I'd have gotten out a lot sooner if I hadn't been."_

"I'm still having a hard time seeing a problem here. You're not too late to get the antidote, why don't they just give it to you?"

"_The moment I debarked, I abdicated my status as a gym leader and all the privileges that come with it. That includes the antidote. The only chance I have to get it now is..."_

Kelly frowned. "Challenge the Atlantis League for it?"

"_...Yeah."_

"What can I do, then?"

"_I'm not sure I can do it myself. I'd like you to help me... if you could."_

The brunette raised her eyebrows. "Just me? You don't want Jason along?"

"_No offense to him or his status as a Pokémon master, but he hasn't trained in quite some time. The Atlantis League is always at their peak. Sorry to say, I don't think he is."_

"If that's where we're going, neither am I," Kelly replied drily. "What about Adam?"

"_Adam's got his head in his next book and that's where it should be. He's already gone up against the Atlantis League twice. That was more than enough and almost more than he could handle. He and Jason both had to take incredible amounts of care in how they conducted themselves during their challenge because they didn't want to be trapped by the gym leader clause."_

"No need to remind me. But what do I bring to the table that they couldn't?"

"_Unpredictability. And knowledge of Pokémon, both general and specific, that trumps theirs. While they've been writing their memoirs, you've been doing endless research. You'd probably be better at battling now than ever before – you know the precise limitations of what you're going up against, even on the fly."_

Kelly offered a chuckle of incredulity. "I'll grant the part about unpredictability, but I think you might be investing a little too much confidence in my knowhow. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've trained a battle-worthy Pokémon? Never mind a team of six that could take on the Atlantis League. I avoided that mess altogether."

"_I'm not that naive, Kelly. You have Pokémon in your lab whose maximum potential you're seeking out to this day, and some of them came from your own collection. You may not have trained them in any recent battles, but trust me, they'll remember how to fight."_ A sigh crackled over the line._ "I know you avoided the league before. I'm asking you to fight it with me now. I think my chances are better if you're along."_

–

Jason scrunched his eyes tightly, yawned, then turned over in bed and sought out Kelly's hand with his own. And he sought it for several moments, then came to the dazed realization that she wasn't there.

His eyes cracked open in confusion, and he squinted through the darkness. "Kelly?" he said softly.

He heard a sigh from across the room; now he saw his wife's silhouette, a faint trace of an outline against the dark backdrop of the night-stricken house. She was standing at her closet and donning a shirt. "Was hoping to avoid attention until after I left," she muttered.

That statement, quiet though it was, nevertheless drew Jason's attention fully to her and made him open his eyes a little more widely. He stifled another yawn. "Going somewhere?"

"Sort of. I just got a call from Amanda, she's on her way here."

"Right now? It's past midnight."

"Right now, yes."

"Adam's not coming?"

"It's kind of a girls-only thing."

"Oh." He propped his head up on one arm. "I'm guessing that's where the questions stop, right?"

"Right. Dunno when I'll be back, but don't worry about it too much. I'll call."

He blinked at the vague statement. "Okay... well, then, take care, I guess."

"Naturally." She reached for a belt, strapped it on, then made her way to the door. She stopped just long enough to look back in Jason's general direction. "Love you."

"Love you, too." He let his head fall back to his pillow, unable to see the strained smile Kelly was giving him.

She didn't fancy keeping secrets from Jason and Adam, but on the other hand, she'd described it about as truthfully as she could – it was, as far as Amanda was concerned, a girls-only thing. She was still trying to digest the information. _Why would the Atlantis League sterilize their gym leaders? What if their leaders stayed on for more than five years... does that mean they're doomed to a barren family tree?_

She fingered the belt she'd just cinched into place. More specifically, she fingered the six empty slots in the belt she'd just cinched into place.

Amanda had described her only hope of getting the antidote to Kelly as entailing grueling Pokémon battles. Kelly knew herself to be fairly intelligent, and believed it to be no stretch of the imagination that only some of the battles would be taking place in gyms.

Atlantis League gyms, at that. Because that's where Amanda had gotten the inoculation in the first place.

She shut the door quietly behind her and made her way along the well-trod path to the Pallet Town Pokémon Laboratory, headed up by Professor Oak. She chewed her lip at the cool breeze tugging at her clothes; she'd dressed hastily and was ill-prepared for the chill gust. She wrapped her arms about herself and set her jaw.

Only a few assistants and laborers were bustling about the lab at this ungodly hour. The third shift was not a remarkably active one to begin with, as more than two-thirds of the Pokémon at the lab chose that time to sleep. Kelly wondered if some of the researchers didn't sometimes follow suit on that account.

_Guess I'll find out_, she thought, as she swiped her passkey through the front door's card reader and entered the building. A soft tone drifting through the complex informed its occupants that someone had entered; she had no sooner entered the network of hallways to the Pokémon nesting areas than she was greeted by Vincent, one of the more dedicated researchers in the facility and currently the senior technician for the night shift.

He blinked in surprise. "Kelly. Isn't it sort of late for you?"

"Matter of perspective, Vince. Something's come up, I'm here to pick up some of my Pokémon."

"By 'your Pokémon', do you mean the ones you're researching, or your personal catches?"

"Both. And I really need as little fuss as possible on the matter, this thing's kind of urgent."

He gave her a disapproving look. "We can't just release Pokémon to you on the skinny, Kelly. I'm assuming the professor doesn't know anything about it, since you're in here talking about urgency in the dead of night while he's sleeping."

"Sooner or later you'll make an incorrect assumption, Vince."

"Yeah, well, for now, I'm evidently on a roll. You can take your own catches any time you want, of course, but lab Pokémon need controlled environments in which to grow so that we can examine them properly."

She cocked her head at him. "Have I done something to make you think I'm stupid?"

"You want to take lab Pokémon out and you've yet to show me any sort of eagerness to explain why. 'Something's come up' just isn't good enough and you've said that to interns any number of times. Play smart and I'll treat you smart."

She pursed her lips. "It's a private matter."

"Then how about we start with which ones you want."

"You got the Feebas to breed, I want one of theirs. Also the female Snorunt. And the Porygon that you guys found poking around the professor's private accounts."

Vincent blanched; he and she both knew that while the professor was aware of that Porygon's existence, he had yet to be told about that little detail. For two minutes that day, he'd been the proud owner of two hundred thousand shares of stock in MooMoo Manure. But he didn't acquiesce completely. "Feebas and Porygon, fine. Snorunt's a problem."

"I want her, Vince."

"She's the only female we've got access to, you want to just snatch her away?"

"Yeah, I do. She has the strand, males don't. Getting her out there might give us a few helpful clues."

"Take her out of this environment and you'll most likely have more questions than answers, assuming she even evolves the way you think she will."

"If you didn't think I have something to my theory, you wouldn't be fighting with me over her. I'm going to be away for a while, Vince, and this is how I intend to continue contributing to this laboratory while I'm gone."

"By making yourself the only witness to their advancement? No recording devices, no controlled experimentation?"

"They aren't amoebas, Vincent. They don't like being poked and prodded twenty-four-seven and I think they'd honestly appreciate some time out of this glass jar. Gonna help me out here, or do I need to call the professor at 1:30 in the morning to get the authorization you know he's going to give me?"

Vincent crossed his arms, then sighed. "Fine. But I'm referring him to you tomorrow morning when he asks me what the hell happened."

"More likely he'll ask you why the hell you held me up," Kelly responded snappishly. She pressed past him and up the hall toward the pens. _Of all the nights to get caught up in bureaucracy..._

Her arrival in the aquarium was greeted by a pair of interns whose eyes looked bloodshot. She remembered seeing them on the Feebas case, as well, though their names were eluding her for the moment – and whether that was due to being awakened so abruptly at such an odd hour or due to simply having not been around them long enough for them to make a lasting impression, she couldn't be certain. She mentally set aside the list of possibilities on the rather trivial matter and began consulting the spreadsheets on each specimen.

_Looks like the strongest rated one is... tank 4? Okay. But it can't just be a strength thing or they'd have evolved by now._ She glanced up at the individual tanks; each Feebas was swimming about within them, looking even more oblivious than garden-variety Magikarp, if that was possible. Most of them looked about the same – same sickly pallor, shredded-looking fins, hideous puckering faces. She wanted to flinch just looking at them.

But one seemed to stand out among these in the category of appearance. Kelly blinked when she realized the difference; the Feebas in tank 6, although its measurable stats were noticeably lower than most of the others, seemed to be not quite as ugly. Its blue fins didn't have so many holes and rips in them, and the brown spots that dotted the puke-like coloration of its scales seemed more faded, not nearly as noticeable. For that matter, the coloration itself wasn't as nauseating as that of most of the others, either.

She turned to the two researchers. "What've you been doing with this one?" she asked, pointing at the tank for clarification.

The younger of the two already very young researchers scratched at a wispy patch of stubble on his chin. "Uh, we started giving it PokéBlocks with emphasis on enhancing physical stature and appearance."

"Why?"

He gave her a look as though to say the answer couldn't have been more obvious if it had been written on his forehead. "Because Feebas look really grotesque?"

"Any practical reasons?"

The other assistant glanced up from his clipboard. "The professor wants us to look into all possibilities. That's what science is about, isn't it, Dr. Shields?"

She arched an eyebrow; it was rare that anyone around here used that particular designation. "Yeah. But it doesn't seem all that likely to do much."

"Who cares what seems likely? Every other method has flopped, so we have to start exploring the less likely and the more fantastic. Undirected research is the sort that ferrets out the most useful information. The parent Feebas have been breeding, now we have enough spawn to test each theory out individually – and not only do the children help the research, the reverse is also true."

In spite of herself, Kelly quirked one corner of her mouth upward in a not-quite-smile. "That's a fair point. Do you have any Feebas that you haven't started in on yet?"

The second assistant rubbed the back of his neck – Kelly could hear at least one of his vertebra crack. "Well, a few eggs hatched yesterday and we're sorting them out. They're just infants, though, we were gonna give them maybe a week before trying to sort them out into categories for study."

"I'm going to be gone for a while, and I'm planning on taking one with me. I'd just as soon it be one that isn't already involved in experimentation. So would Vince, for that matter, and probably the professor, too."

The two exchanged looks. Kelly impatiently placed her hands on her hips. "Guys, it's not that hard. Just pick one and I'll take care of the rest."

"Um, no offense, but it sounds like the professor hasn't signed off," said the stubbled assistant, suddenly looking nervous. "Not sure how he'd feel about–"

"Guys," she interrupted, holding up one hand to stop him. "I've already had this chat with Vince. The professor isn't in here and I am. I don't like pulling rank but I think the two of you are smart enough to know that I'm about fourteen rungs higher on the ladder. I'll take responsibility and the professor is free to call me if he thinks I've overstepped."

The two exchanged another look, but didn't spend another moment debating with her. Both made their way further up the hall and stopped in front of the final tank on the right, where a school of small fish were flitting about here and there – no real rhyme or reason to their movement, other than to learn how to swim as a group. It was a singularly ugly lot and all were indistinguishable from each other.

The one with the clipboard pulled a light pen from his pocket and indicated one of the fish within. "Let's go with that one. C'mere, you..."

The Feebas on which the light shone was instantly distracted by the sight of the beam and trailed towards the glass, until it bumped headlong into the casing. Both assistants let out a chuckle and even Kelly found herself having a hard time keeping a straight face. But hers wasn't a response of amusement so much as an attempt to suppress a flinch. _I hate trying to solve mysteries. Study and hypothesize, sure. But I wasn't ever into the whole trainer-to-trainer "mystery gift" idea. I don't like surprises._

She leaned forward and squinted at the subject. "Think you could've picked an uglier one?"

"You're the one who said 'pick one and I'll take care of the rest'," responded the stubbled intern. "So... deal with it. _Doctor_."

Her eyes narrowed at the unneeded emphasis but she chose not to comment as they programmed a series of commands into the keypad adorning the wall next to the tank. The keypad beeped in response and an overhead projector sent a neon beam of light in the direction of the chosen Feebas. The Pokémon dissolved in the glow as it was tractored into the complex's digital suspension system.

The clipboard-bearing assistant turned back to her. "You'll find it in Box 324."

"Thank you. I'm also here to get the female Snorunt."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Anything else while we're at it?"

"Not unless somebody let that Porygon out of Box 411."

The shorter intern coughed – he also knew about the incident. "Uh, no, that's been sealed off and encrypted. It's not going anywhere unless... well, unless someone takes it. Like, far away."

"Hm." _If you only knew._

–

He could hear amazement in the boy's voice. "Whoa, mister. I really didn't think... I mean... wow."

He smiled. "If there's one thing I'm used to, it's being underestimated. I take advantage of it. As you can probably tell. Say, how about we go to the Pokémon Center? I imagine yours could use some fixing up right about now. Mine probably could too."

He felt the little one skitter up the leg of his pants. He'd never known it to be discomforting but her friendliness wasn't always appreciated by others, though she meant no harm by it. Of course, there was no discomfort here – he smiled again as he felt her seek out a perch on his shoulder. He reached up and ruffled her rough hair affectionately, to the tune of an equally affectionate declaration. "Smoochum!"

"So, uh..." There was hesitation in the boy's voice. "Need to take my hand or anything?"

He shook his head. "No thanks, just walk ahead of me and I'll follow."

"The closest Pokémon Center's kind of a ways from here."

He nodded. "I know. Viridian City, right? I'm headed that way anyway."

"Really? You gonna challenge the gym there?"

Another shake of his head and a smile to accompany it. "No, the Pokémon I've brought on this trip aren't quite good enough for that yet. Powerful, sure, but not that powerful."

"Then why're you going to Viridian?"

"I'm not, really. It's just on my way to where I need to go. I'm going to Pallet Town."

"Really? There's a Pokémon lab there. Professor Oak built it."

"He sure did."

"That why you're going?"

He smiled once more. "Not exactly. There's someone there I'd like to meet."

"What's his name? Or her name, I guess, if it's a girl..."

He chuckled. "Definitely not a girl. His name's Jason."

"A friend of yours?"

The sound of his cane tapping against the ground was the only noise offered in response to the boy's question.

_I hope he will be._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

He tilted his head in curiosity. "So about how close are we? I can hear the sounds of people out and about."

The boy offered a chuckle. "Not too far now, we're just getting into the city limits. Hey, man, I think it's really awesome you asked me to help you out, you know, after you own the match and all that. Some of the others like to look down on me when I don't win."

"That doesn't strike me as very sporting," he commented. The _tap-tap-tap_ of his cane provided counterpoint to his remark.

"Well, no. Some of them won't even make sure I get out of the tall grass, if you get my drift."

His facial expression didn't change but the tenor of his voice changed slightly. "That goes from unsportsmanlike to just plain rude. When was the last time any of them could use Teleport to get out of a tight spot?"

"That's what I'm sayin'! So, I mean, thanks a lot. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem. Just a shame that common courtesy isn't so common."

"Smoochum!"

He could hear the grin in the boy's voice. "I guess your Pokémon thinks the same way?"

"Heartily, at that," he agreed. "I raised her to be as helpful as possible. Same for Starmie – they both help me out quite a bit."

"Well, that's really cool of you. Aha! There it is, just a few blocks away, straight ahead."

"Well, then, lead on, my friend," he answered.

–

Color was just beginning to touch the horizon, and Kelly was sitting on her heels on the paved sidewalk just beyond their house. Her hands were clasped together and she was staring intently at the concrete, as though it would do something extraordinary within the next few seconds.

She could hear the low hum of a vehicle in the distance and just a few short moments later, a pair of bright lights accompanied the noise on the road leading north to Viridian City. She couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the irony. _Something to be said here – traveling from the city of vindication for the best, to "the town of new beginnings". Guess there's always a new beginning to be found somewhere._

The car pulled up in front of her. It was a modest vehicle, really meant to convey two people comfortably and three or four at a stretch. Assuming that stretch required one to stuff the extra passengers in the trunk. The passenger side window scrolled down to reveal Amanda sitting in the driver's seat.

She took a moment to size Kelly up; her eyes passed slowly over the researcher's capture ball belt. Five of six slots on it were occupied. "I see you're not one to waste time."

"Friends and plumbing, always high priorities," Kelly noted, her tone somewhat glib.

Amanda frowned, causing the other to flinch slightly. "This thing is happening to me, I'd sort of appreciate if you didn't joke about it just now."

"Sorry. I just feel a bit... out of place, being the one you asked to help."

Amanda arched an eyebrow at Kelly. "If you'd prefer I do this by myself after all..."

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily. You asked me to be here and here I am. I'm ready to do this if you are."

"Hope so. Hop in."

Kelly obliged, buckling in as she sat down. As Amanda pulled the car back onto the road, Kelly watched her for a long moment and said, "I really am sorry. This is just really sudden."

"If you listen to Adam, a lot of the stuff I do seems to be based on sudden urges," Amanda remarked.

Kelly blinked in surprise. "Where did that come from?"

A sigh escaped the driver. "He thinks I've been rushing into wanting to have a baby. He wants time for just us first."

"And there's a problem with that?"

"Well... yes and no." Amanda sighed again. "My thing is, I became the damsel in distress for him. It was his goal to get me out of the league so that I could come home. Not just for the sake of coming home, but of coming home to _him_. Which, yeah, I wanted... but I don't want to be the one looked after anymore. I want to do the looking and the caring."

"And you feel having a baby would be the right thing for that?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Kelly considered. "I suppose I would, in a way." She couldn't help the wryness that crept its way into her tone. "I've been a prisoner of circumstance myself. But if Jason and I are going to have kids, it's not going to be now. We're both pretty much settled on that. Not ready yet."

"Which is fine, since you weren't inoculated with mifepristone." Amanda pursed her lips. "I think it's a good thing I've been 'rushing' into it. If I hadn't wanted it so soon, I wouldn't have found out what I know now. And now I have a chance to fix it before it's too late."

Kelly chewed her lip for a moment before responding to that. "I wanted to ask about that, actually. Just how much chance... would you say we have?"

Amanda looked sidelong at Kelly and a long silence hung between them. She finally offered a long sigh. "Look... the Atlantis League is constantly changing. It's not like just any schmuck can walk in there expecting to win. Jason and Adam are... or were... uncommonly good trainers. But Adam had the benefit of knowing me and which Pokémon I was likely to use, and he probably tipped Jason off on at least a couple of the gym leaders."

"And?"

"And it's been two years since I left. You can bet the composition of the gym leaders has changed drastically, maybe even some of the policies. The fact that he was even there was a miracle, to say nothing of willing to tell me what happened."

Kelly cocked her head. "'He'? He who?"

"Darth." Amanda scoffed at Kelly's incredulous look. "Not his real name, just like 'Trixie' wasn't mine. We get to pick them. It can help to psyche out an opponent. Anyway, Darth is the leader of the first gym."

"Jason told me about him. Didn't have much to say, though."

"There's virtually nothing to say about him at all. He lives in total solitude on the _Colossal_. He's been with the League a lot longer than me or anyone else I worked with – even Mark, the champion, wasn't there as long. Why he isn't the champion is anyone's guess."

Kelly shrugged. "Well, maybe he _was_, and then got bumped?"

"Possible. Like I said, it's anyone's guess. Even when he's had the chance, and he's had a lot of them, he's never relinquished his status as the _Colossal_'s gym leader." She scoffed again. "By being Gym Leader Number One, he's only allowed to use one Pokémon. It's a waste of his skill to restrict him like that."

"Except he's not the only one restricted, is he?" Kelly pointed out. "Jason and Adam both told me how the trainers going in are embargoed from using any more Pokémon in battle than the gym leader."

"Yes, as they say, all a matter of fairness." Amanda shook her head. "You need to see him in battle. If he were the fifth gym leader... or even the champion... I'm not sure anybody could win that trophy."

"Why?"

"He loves his solitude. The only thing he loves more are his Pokémon. He's only permitted one in battle but he doesn't always use the same one. He keeps it fresh. We all did. We all were mandated to."

"Makes sense. Sooner or later word about your Pokémon."

"Exactly. I don't know how many Pokémon he has but he is a master breeder. He breeds and trains them on that ship. For all I know, the new gym leaders are following his example, making the absolute best Pokémon they can specifically to beat people like you and me."

"Which brings me back to my question."

Amanda's voice softened. "And I think that answers it."

–

It wasn't like Jason to awaken later than the sunrise, so when he finally did open his eyes and realized the sun was already beginning to blaze through the house, he felt disoriented. He passed a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger to try and rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep. Since having his cycle interrupted, his hadn't been a peaceful slumber. Fragmented memories of the Orange Islands, his excruciating electrocution, and the sight of Gyarados destroying the marina had all mixed together to create a disjointed nightmare of pain and confusion. But even now, the images and sensations of the dream were beginning to fade.

_And best that they do. I have enough trouble dealing with the real memories without getting them turned into some subconscious game of Tetris._

He rolled onto his side – and again found himself confused. Kelly wasn't in the bed with him. Usually she was awake by this point, but she wasn't one to leave the bed quickly; one could count on her to stay there until perhaps 9 a.m., and the clock read only 8:12. He frowned as he dug through his memory, no less hazy than the vanishing dream, of having been inadvertently awoken during the night.

_Right. She said she had something to take care of with Amanda. "Girls-only." Whatever that means._ He stretched his arms and arched his back, yawning loudly in the process, then wrestled himself into his wheelchair and moved out to the living room. He tilted his head at the sight of a piece of looseleaf paper on the coffee table; a pen acted as a weight atop it, and even from his position he could tell the note had been hastily scribbled on. He moved his chair next to the table and picked up the note.

_Jason:_

_I'm on something of an emergency business trip with Amanda. Sorry for not letting you know sooner but it came up __REALLY__ quickly. We're going to be out of town for at least a few days. I'll give you a call as soon as I can. I love you!_

Jason frowned. _That's strange. Amanda's not really into business – neither's Kelly._ He made his way back into the bedroom and withdrew his PokeGear from his bedside table, then dialed in a command.

A few moments later, he heard a _click_, followed by Adam's voice, which offered no preamble. _"Jason? You calling about Amanda and Kelly?"_

"Uh. Yeah. Hello to you, too, by the way."

"_Sorry, hi. I was just going to call you, actually. Wanted to know what you knew about it."_

"Apparently no more than you do. Kelly left me a note saying they had some kind of emergency business trip. Which seems strange to me. The two of them aren't really involved in business. Unless Amanda's started up on something I don't know about."

"_Afraid there's not much I can tell you. All Amanda told me was that she had to leave town for a few days. I'm worried about her. The latest attempt was a non-starter, too."_

"I'm sorry to hear." Jason tried to stifle a chuckle. "Maybe you two need to try more often?"

"_Funny, I suggested that very idea. I'm thinking maybe she went to a specialist. Didn't think she'd try to push me out of that, though – isn't it the both of us trying, here?"_

"I wouldn't know, I'm not in the room." Jason hesitated. "Are you?"

"_Well... yeah. I mean, I know how much she wants a kid. And I understand why. I want to have kids with her too, I just... didn't think it'd be so soon. We're still in our mid-twenties."_

"I gather you've talked that part out with her already."

"_You don't want to know how many times. I want kids, sure. She wants kids __**now**__. I just don't know if I'm ready for that kind of adventure yet."_

"You're a writer, for godsakes. Adventure is your bread and butter."

"_Too many books on being a parent. It's the original fable."_

"So what's the next one going to be about?"

"_You'll be the second to know."_

"The first being?"

"_Me."_ Jason heard a chuckle emit from the other end. _"Let me know if you hear from Kelly, I'll do the same if I hear from Amanda. Sound good?"_

"Fine by me."

–

The day passed with no word from either Kelly or Amanda, leaving Jason to prepare his own food and peruse the latest periodicals and news channels in solitude. He appreciated the head-clearing silence that came with being alone – it was something he hadn't experience for a very long time. There had always been his family. Then there had always been Gyarados. And then there had always been Kelly. So on and so forth. The only time his day was interrupted was during the late morning, when Professor Oak dialed to find out whether Kelly was at home. The revelation that she was not was met with the barest and most distracted of good-byes.

Come the sunset, Jason was seated idle just beyond the shorefront. The sun might have been kissing the western horizon but his eyes were directed to the south, towards what remained of Cinnabar Island – and beyond that, the far-off Orange Islands.

Since his fatal encounter with his insane brother two years ago, he had never deigned to return. He saw the occasional article in various periodicals offering general and vague descriptions on the state of business there, but for the most part his eyes had long gotten accustomed to skipping such pieces. There was never any reason for him to read them, or so he'd come to believe. The simple truth was he had no family remaining, and nothing of theirs to claim – even if he reported himself to the authorities there as alive and well, which he had never done. As far as they were concerned, he was a cold case. According to an article Kelly had shoved under his nose several days after their return to Kanto from that nightmare, the discovery of Daniel's body was followed rapidly by a liquidation of the family's assets in order to cover outstanding debts owed. Meantime, the body had been properly buried; the autopsy report showed he'd been mauled to death by a wild Gyarados.

He could still remember scoffing at the irony of the report... so true and yet so false at the same time. _Gyarados virtually bit him in half. They don't get much more wild than that. Imagine the scandal if they knew it was a tamed one._

That wasn't information that he, Kelly, or Adam were interested in sharing with anyone. The evidence collected created a story that appeared to conveniently keep the three of them out of the picture, leaving only Daniel and an unfortunate encounter with a vicious animal. On top of that, it was shown that even if the most cutting-edge medical technology and care had been available the instant it happened, it wouldn't have done any good. He'd been doomed the moment Gyarados set eyes on him.

He felt stirred from his reverie, and frowned as he heard what sounded like a faint, rhythmic tapping noise. _Tap-tap-tap-tap_, as if someone was hitting the sidewalk with a branch. He straightened in his chair, turned–

–and immediately his eyebrows shot up, because that was almost exactly what was happening.

The person approaching was male. He appeared to be in his late teens – Jason estimated perhaps 16 or 17, not old enough to be a man but not quite a boy anymore either. His black hair was close-cut, almost buzzed. He wore light blue jeans, a red shirt, and a black vest, all of which were faded and somewhat frayed – indicative of heavy use in conditions both moderate and extreme. Over his eyes was a dark pair of narrow, ski-goggle sunglasses. The young man stood a little less than two meters, and in his right hand he bore a collapsible white cane, the culprit of the tapping noise: left, right, left, right, left, right.

But perhaps most striking to Jason about this person was the standard issue capture ball belt adorning his waist. A pair of Poké Balls occupied two of its six slots. They, too, did not seem particularly new. For all the sunlight that still blazed across the horizon, there was no glare shining off the miniaturized devices. Jason's eyebrows shot up for a moment, then he frowned.

_A Pokémon trainer... that's __**blind**__? ...Or maybe just someone with "seeing-eye" Pokémon? But if they were that, why wouldn't they be outside their balls?_

Interest piqued, he turned his wheelchair to face the young man more fully. As he watched, the other continued to approach, apparently making a beeline for the paraplegic. He stopped short only a meter from striking the wheelchair with his cane, at which point he came to a stop. His face was turned in Jason's direction, leading the wheelchair-bound man to wonder whether the trainer's blindness was total. Or perhaps even genuine.

Attempting to cover his balk, he spoke up. "I don't smell that badly, do I?"

The young man's face broke into a wide grin. "If you'd prefer I bump into you..."

Jason let out a chuckle. "Point taken. Need me to move out of your way?"

"Somehow, I don't think I will. I was told I could find Jason Creight out here and rarely do I hear a grown man speak from waist level. So would you be Mr. Creight?"

The paralyzed trainer cocked his head somewhat cautiously. "The last time I checked, I was. Is there a reason you're looking for me?"

"Yes, there is. But first and foremost I wanted to tell you how much an admirer I am. You're the reason I'm even here at all."

Jason tilted his head in the other direction. "Well, I'm flattered by that... but I hope you'll forgive me for not being more dazzled. Over the years, I've been made quite aware of the inspiration I've provided to others."

"I'm sure of that. Still, I thought you should know you provided an invaluable example for me to follow."

"Wasn't really trying to. But I'm glad people..." He hesitated, looking for the proper phrasing. "Well, I'm glad they can glean some hope from it." Jason loosely laced his fingers in his lap. "May I ask the name of the hope-gleaner in front of me?"

The young man smiled again – this one appeared to have a slight bit of trepidation attached to it. "My name's Samuel Curtis. I tend to go by Sam. And as you're probably able to tell, I'm blind."

Jason caught himself nodding in affirmation; realizing the faux pas, he followed the nod with an abrupt, "Yes, the, uh... cane and sunglasses were a bit of a giveaway."

"They usually are. And by now you've certainly noticed that I have Pokémon with me. I am, in fact, an active Pokémon trainer."

Jason chewed the inside of his lip for a moment. "A blind trainer must not be that common here in Kanto."

Another smile graced Sam's features. "Very true, Mr. Creight. Not in Kanto, or anywhere else, really. I'm the only one I know of. Anyway, there's one standing here now. And if you're not too terribly busy, I'd like to talk with you for a while."

Jason's eyebrows rose. "Talk? No challenges to battle?"

"Mr. Creight, I have a lot of respect for you. Whether the myth of Jason Creight matches the man, I really don't think I could beat you in a battle if I wanted to. Besides... they say challenges are issued the moment trainers lock eyes. Let's face it, kind of hard for me."

Jason actually laughed at that. "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

The laugh wasn't reciprocated – in fact, not even a smile came to the trainer's face. "I'm afraid it wasn't that difficult, other people helped to come up with it for me."

Jason sobered. _That certainly wasn't said in jest._ "Tell you what... not really doing anything important just now. How about we go over to my place?"

"Really?" Sam shifted in place, but appeared to have a poor time concealing his excitement at the thought. "I wouldn't want to impose..."

"Hardly. If you're looking to talk to me, I imagine you'd want at least a little privacy, so rather than wait for you to awkwardly ask me about the chances of finding a place, let me remove that particular hurdle."

"Your wife won't mind?"

Jason blinked. "My, my. You do keep up, don't you?"

"Mr. Creight, if you're so unimpressed with the inspiration that brought me into training, then you're probably used to hero worship."

Jason scoffed. "Okay, I'll grant that. Actually, as it so happens, my wife is out of town for a while, so this is the perfect time for me to have unexpected guests."

"Sounds like you've got it all worked out, then. Care to lead the way?"

Jason tilted his head once more. "You don't want to walk ahead so I could tell you what direction to go?"

"I'll just follow the smell."

Jason tried to restrain a guffaw and began to move his wheelchair. _Hoo, boy. Wouldn't Adam love to take this kid aside. He exudes that sort of "adventure" about him._

_... He's adventurous and he's been looking for me._

_This will be trouble._


End file.
